GENESIS Chapter 29, 30 Jacob III - Jacob Raises His Own Family
Jacob continued his journey and came to eastern land, Paddan Aram.
There he met Rachel, who was the daughter of Laban.
Jacob agreed to work for Laban on condition that he could marry Rachel.
But after serving his uncle for 7 years, Laban cheated Jacob and gave Leah, his elder daughter to him.
Jacob had once cheated his father and his brother to get blessing and he had to pay bitterly now.
He had to serve for another 7 years to get Rachel as his wife.
Rachel was loved more by husband but was barren and jealous of her sister Leah, and vice versa.
Two women competed to get husband's love by child-baring; they even made use of their maids.
Through two wives and their maids, Jacob got to have 12 sons and a daughter
(perhapse more daughters unmentioned).
God raises the Israel people through these 12 sons later.
Now that Jacob had his own family, he wanted to raise his own household.
However hard he might work, all profits became eventually his uncle Laban's.
Jacob asked Laban to let him go back to his homeland but Laban was unwilling to lose his labor force and soothed him, promising some rewards.
God helped Jacob here again by showing what kinds of cattles he had to choose through his dream.
Jacob chose speckled, spotted, dark-colored sheep or goat.
In fact, these are rarer than white ones but Jacob soon became wealthy by God's grace.
영어성경읽기 - GENESIS 29,30 (Jacob III)
